Find familiar question

[Iampower]

A quick question on rules regarding find familiar. You can get find familiar as a wizard spell, warlock ritual, and as a bard spell yes? Does this mean that you can get multiple familiars - one from each spell? Or would the last paragraph of the spell count each instance of the spell as a single "familiar"?

[Zhorn]

A quick question on rules regarding find familiar. You can get find familiar as a wizard spell, warlock ritual, and as a bard spell yes? Does this mean that you can get multiple familiars - one from each spell? Or would the last paragraph of the spell count each instance of the spell as a single "familiar"?

I feel like this is one of those fiddly questions that should be 'no', but might be a 'maybe' depending on how you rule spells known at your table.

If you class each instance of Find Familiar as a different spell just under the same shared name (ie: wizard spells are different to bard spells, and both are different to warlock spells), then I guess there's nothing stopping you.

If you rule it as the same spell just via different sources, then it'll be a 'no'

[mephiztopheleze]

No.
One familiar per character.

[Greywander]

Ah, I can see what you're asking. Normally, you can only summon one familiar at a time with the spell. What you want to know is if it counts as a "different spell" if you get it from two different classes, e.g. having both a wizard familiar and a warlock familiar at the same time. The answer, I believe, is that it does not.

In general, the rule is that a creature can't be affected by the same spell more than once at a time. For example, I can't cast Enlarge/Reduce on a party member, then have another party member cast Enlarge/Reduce on the same party member to make then double Enlarged. Likewise, a party of clerics can't stack up four or five Shields of Faith on one of them to boost their AC into the stratosphere. It doesn't matter where the spell comes from, or which class learns it. Paladins also get Shield of Faith, but you can't stack it on top of a cleric's Shield of Faith just because they come from different spell lists, because it's still the same spell.

Ergo, with Find Familiar, it doesn't matter that you're getting it from different classes, you can still only have one familiar at a time from this spell. There are other ways to get familiars, pets, thralls, servants, followers, and other sorts of minions to do your bidding. If you were to find an actual imp (not a familiar spirit in the form of an imp), you could make a contract with it to become your familiar, which would be in addition to any familiar from the Find Familiar spell. Of course, a familiar gained in such a way works differently from familiars gained from the Find Familiar spell. The Monster Manual has infoboxes on variant familiars in several places, notably next to the quasit statblock (p. 63), under the section on Devils (p. 69), next to the pseudodragon statblock (p. 254), and next to the mage statblock (p. 347).

My theory is that the familiar is an extension or manifestation of the caster's own soul, and thus you can only make one at a time. Or, it's some form of guardian spirit (like a genius), and each person only has one. The Find Familiar spell merely lets the genius manifest as a physical entity. In any case, I see the familiar spirit as either part of your own spirit or as another spirit bound to your own. This is also why they are totally loyal to you. If you make a contract with a real creature to become your familiar, well, then it's a different story.

[Zhorn]

-snip-

That a very nice narrative reasoning for it.... *yoink*

[holywhippet]

I will note that find familiar isn't on the bard list. They can get it via magical secrets but it is kind of a waste doing so.

[Segev]

In 5e, there are no "different versions" of spells on different spell lists. They're all the same spell; just some classes can cast them, and others cannot. Find familiar remains the same no matter what class(es) you know it from, or whether you know it from a feat.

[Keravath]

I'd also add that even the pact of the chain warlock which allows additional familiars is worded to allow the warlock to cast the SAME find familiar spell just with additional options. A tomelock could also take it as a ritual. However, in all cases, it is still the same spell being cast and you can only have one instance of the spell active at the same time.

[Dork_Forge]

You can only have on familiar from the Find Familiar spell. You can temporarily gain an additional two familiars (I beliebe for an hour) from the Flock of Familiars spell. :)

[Iampower]

Thanks for the answers! Tbis does seem like one of those things thst could easily get out of hand if allowed so that would be a no then.